Gaon iz Vilnjusa

Gaon iz Vilnjusa Vilna Gaon Elija iz Viljnusa Gra
Puno ime	Elaja ben Solomon Zalman
Ime po rođenju	Elijah ben Solomon Zalman
Datum rođenja	(1720-04-23)23. april 1720.
Mesto rođenja	Selec  Državna zajednica Poljske i Litvanije
Datum smrti	9. oktobar 1797.(1797-10-09) (77 god.)
Mesto smrti	Viljnus  Rusko carstvo
Mesto ukopa	Viljnus, Litvanija

Elija ben Solomon Zalman, (hebr. ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן Rabin Elijahu ben Šlomo Zalman) poznat kao Vilna Gaon ili Elijah od Vilne, ili po njegovom hebrejskom akronimu HaGra („HaGaon Raben Elijahu”: „Mudrac, naš učitelj, Elijah”) ili Elijah Ben Solomon (Silec, 23. april 1720 – Vilnjus 8. oktobar 1797), bio je talmudista, halahista, kabalista, i najviši leader misnagdskih (nehasidskih) Jevreja u proteklih nekoliko vekova. Na hebrejskom ga nazivaju ha-Gaon he-Časid mi-Vilna, „pobožni genije iz Vilnjusa”.

Mladost i obrazovanje

Prema legendi on je do 4. godine memorisao celokupni Tanah. U sedmoj godini studirao je Talmud pod nadzorom Mojsija Margalita, rabina iz Kedajnjaja i autora tumačenja Jerusalimskog Talmuda pod nazivom Pnej Moše („Mojsijevo lice”). Za mladog Elijaha se govorilo da je već napamet znao nekoliko talmudskih traktata. On je poznat po tome što je posedovao eidetsko pamćenje. Do osam godina je u slobodno vreme studirao astronomiju. Od desete godine nastavio je studije bez pomoći učitelja, jer je njegovo znanje već nadmašilo sve njegove nastavnike, a sa jedanaest godina je ceo Talmud znao napamet.

Kada je dosegao zrelije doba, Ilija je odlučio da ode u „egzil” i lutao je različitim delovima Evrope, uključujući Poljsku i Nemačku, kao što je bio običaj među pobožnim tog vremena. U vreme kada je imao dvadeset godina, rabini su mu podnosili svoje najteže halahičke probleme. Učenjaci, jevrejski i nejevrejski, poštovali su njegov uvid u matematiku i astronomiju. On se vratio u rodni grad 1748. godine, do kog vremena je veći bio stekao znatnu reputaciju.

Metode studiranja

The Gaon applied to the Talmud and rabbinic literature proper philological method making an attempt toward a critical examination of the text.

He devoted much time to the study of the Torah and Hebrew grammar, and was knowledgeable in scientific pursuits of the time. He exorted his pupils and friends to pursue plain and simple methods of study, and not to neglect secular sciences, maintaining that Judaism could only gain by their study. The Gaon was also attracted to the study of Kabbalah; his controversy with Hasidic Judaism stems not from a rejection of mysticism per se, but from a profoundly different understanding of its teachings, in particular regarding its relationship to halakha and the Ashkenazic minhag.

Antagonism to Hasidism

Vilna Gaon (Zalkind, Ber)

When Hasidic Judaism became influential in Vilna, the Vilna Gaon joined rabbis and heads of the Polish communities, to speak against Hasidic influence.

Drugi rad

Except for the conflict with the Hasidim, the Vilna Gaon rarely engaged in public affairs and, so far as is known, did not preside over any school in Vilna. He was satisfied with lecturing in his bet ha-midrash to a few chosen pupils, whom he initiated into his methods. He taught them Hebrew grammar, Hebrew Bible, and Mishna, subjects that were largely neglected by the Talmudists of that time. He was especially anxious to introduce them to the study of midrash literature, and the Minor Treatises of the Talmud, which were very little known by the scholars of his time.

He laid special stress on the study of the Jerusalem Talmud, which had been almost entirely neglected for centuries. The Gaon encouraged his chief pupil, Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, to found a yeshiva (rabbinic academy) in which rabbinic literature should be taught. Rabbi Chaim Volozhin opened the Volozhin yeshiva in 1803, a few years after the Gaon's death, and revolutionized Torah study, with resulting impact on all of Orthodox Jewry.

Asceticism

Elijah Ben Solomon, the Vilna Gaon

The Vilna Gaon led an ascetic life, being called by some of his contemporaries "the Hasid". This term meaning "pious person", and has no relevance to the Hasidic movement.

The Gaon once started on a trip to the Land of Israel, but for unknown reasons did not get beyond Germany. (In the early nineteenth century, three groups of his students, known as Perushim, under the leadership of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Shklov, made their way to what was then Ottoman Palestine, settling first in Safed and later also in Jerusalem). While at Königsberg he wrote to his family a famous letter that was published under the title Alim li-Terufah, Minsk, 1836.

Radovi

The Vilna Gaon was a copious annotator, producing many marginal glosses, notes, and brief commentaries, which were mostly dictated to his pupils. Many maintain that it was his disciples who recorded his comments, if not his editorial notes. However, nothing of his was published in his lifetime. The "Gra" was very precise in the wording of his commentaries, because he maintained that he was obligated by Torah Law that only the "Torah shebichtav" (the written law) is permitted to be written down - the rest of "Torah sheb'al peh" (oral law) cannot be, unless circumstances require. (This further supports the view that it was his disciples who wrote his comments.) So the Vilna Gaon abided by this view of law by reducing his extensive explanations that are largely inscrutable to any but advanced talmudists. Glosses on the Babylonian Talmud and Shulchan Aruch are known as Bi'urei ha-Gra ("Elaborations by the Gra"). His running commentary on the Mishnah is titled Shenoth Eliyahu ("The Years of Elijah"). Various Kabbalistic works have commentaries in his name. His insights on the Pentateuch are titled Adereth Eliyahu ("The Splendor of Elijah"). Commentaries on the Proverbs and other books of the Tanakh were written later on in his life.

He was well versed in the mathematical works of Euclid (4th century BC) and encouraged his pupil Rabbi Baruch Schick of Shklov to translate these works into Hebrew. The Gaon is said to have written a concise mathematical work called Ayil Meshulash, which was an introductory primer to basic mathematics. According to popular myth/legend, it is claimed that the Gaon contributed to contemporary mathematics of his day, and that Cramer's rule is named after him (since his family name was Kremer). However, the rule is in fact named after the Swiss mathematician Gabriel Cramer, and there is no evidence that the Gaon was at all familiar with anything beyond basic (pre-Newtonian/high school level) mathematics, and certainly no evidence that he made any contributions.

Grobno mesto

Tokom 1950-ih, Sovjetske vlasti su planirale da izgrade stadijum i koncertnu dvoranu na toj lokaciji. Oni su dozvolili da se ostaci Vilna Gaona uklone i ponovo sahrane na novom groblju.

Vidi još

• Litvanski jevreji
• Misnagdim
• Perušim

Literatura

• Etkes, Immanuel, et al. The Gaon of Vilna: the man and his image (University of California Press, 2002) ISBN 0-520-22394-2
• "The Gaon of Vilna and the Haskalah movement", by Emanuel Etkes, reprinted in Dan, Joseph (ed.). Studies in Jewish thought (Praeger, NY, 1989) ISBN 0-275-93038-6
• "The mystical experiences of the Gaon of Vilna", in Jacobs, Louis (ed.). Jewish mystical testimonies (Schocken Books, NY, 1977) ISBN 0-8052-3641-4
• Landau, Betzalel and Rosenblum, Yonason. The Vilna Gaon: the life and teachings of Rabbi Eliyahu, the Gaon of Vilna (Mesorah Pub., Ltd., 1994) ISBN 0-89906-441-8
• Shulman, Yaacov Dovid. The Vilna Gaon: The story of Rabbi Eliyahu Kramer ( C.I.S. Publishers, 1994) ISBN 1-56062-278-4
• Ackerman, C. D. (trans.) Even Sheleimah: the Vilna Gaon looks at life (Targum Press, 1994) ISBN 0-944070-96-5
• Schapiro, Moshe. Journey of the Soul: The Vilna Gaon on Yonah/Johan: an allegorical commentary adapted from the Vilna Gaon's Aderes Eliyahu (Mesorah Pub., Ltd., 1997). ISBN 1-57819-161-0
• Freedman, Chaim. Eliyahu's Branches: The Descendants of the Vilna Gaon (Of Blessed and Saintly Memory) and His Family (Avotaynu, 1997) ISBN 1-886223-06-8
• Rosenstein, Neil. The Gaon of Vilna and his Cousinhood (Center for Jewish Genealogy, 1997) ISBN 0-9610578-5-8

Spoljašnje veze

• A Precious Legacy Works of the Vilner Gaon Eliyahu b. Zalman
• Biography from the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum Архивирано на сајту Wayback Machine (15. децембар 2006)